Apple and Samsung phone users could be in line for a £480million windfall after attempts by a US chipmaker to avoid the UK courts failed.
Which?, consumer advocate Qualcomm has been sued over allegations that it used market dominance inflating smartphone prices.
The California company had claimed it did not fall within the jurisdiction of the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.
What about Which? says the firm has accepted ‘the inevitable’ and dropped its objection, letting the case resume. Some 29million Britons who bought phones after 2015 may be entitled to payouts averaging £16-plus.
Apple and Samsung phone users could be in line for a £480million windfall after attempts by a US chipmaker to avoid the UK courts failed
Qualcomm chips allow smartphones to connect to 4G networks. Which chip? The firm is accused of not sharing its patents with competitors and using market power to get companies to pay too high for its chips.
The watchdog says Qualcomm has ‘taken around £480million from UK consumers’ pockets’.
Chief executive Anabel Hoult called the latest development ‘good news for nearly 30million UK consumers who have moved a step closer to seeing Qualcomm held to account’.
In February of this year, the Competition Appeal Tribunal granted permission to consumer rights groups to serve paper on Qualcomm.
The following month, it was given the go-ahead to do so even though the tech giant was outside of the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
At the time, the president of CAT ruled that it was ‘seriously arguable that the alleged conduct constitutes an abuse’ and that the claims were subject to ‘proceedings under national competition laws in several jurisdictions around the world.’
Qualcomm chips allow smartphones to connect to 4G networks. Which is it? The firm is accused of not sharing its patents with competitors and using market power to get companies to pay too much for its chips
Qualcomm has been previously under investigation by US, Canadian, and European competition authorities.
Which? said that in the current case the company had ‘dragged its feet’ and put off the inevitable – and caused both parties to ‘incur necessary costs preparing for the hearing’.
If the company has not settled, the consumer rights group must now request permission from the Tribunal to serve as a representative of the class.
It said it can now ‘get on with the real job of holding Qualcomm to account’ and was aiming for a hearing in the first half of next year.